My apologies to the makers of Alka Seltzer, but I was going for the rhyme in the title...I am referring to the first week on the NEW job. My head is about to explode with all the new information and procedures I had to learn...(it's still security, just a different way of doing it). I really need to have my memory made digital...(all my information in my head is in files and on a rolodex). This way I could recall things quicker. But I believe there is no software upgrade available for my brain because the system was developed before computers. So, I'll have to make due with what I have. It's incredible how much storage is available in the human mind for important things and useless information...(now if I could just remember where I put my keys).
Anywho...I digress (and who is better at going of on a tangent than yours truly!). The first week flew by (nice when you only work 3 of 7). Getting used to 12 hour shifts is easy. Getting used to being awake during the day is taking some time...(can't believe I have to retrain sleep for this). The first day I was yawning at 4 pm because that when I used to nap before going in to do the overnight shift. Getting up in the morning is no problem because I fell asleep at 9 pm after every shift! But I give it another week before I'm back to being a normal working Joe...(in contrast to the Zombie version I was for 9 months). The thing that takes some getting used to is seeing all these people during my shift (employees and guests). When you usually see 3-5 people a night in 8 hours you become numb to the visual stimulation. Now I see 3-5 people a second. And I love it! Interacting with the guests and fellow employees is what I was born to do in this security field. We are constantly busy with daily tasks and frequent calls (medical, locked out of room, escort, wheelchair assist, etc.). So the time flies by. I need to find a reliable step counter because I am travelling miles on foot around this enormous property...(mostly because I get lost). The property is beautiful, my fellow employees and bosses are incredibly nice and helpful and I thank the Lord I stumbled on this opportunity because it was exactly what I needed to recharge the batteries.
Got to go now...I have a tee time (what else is new?). Don't have a regular schedule yet but I will only be the FNG (Effing New Guy) for 2 weeks before a another new employee joins the ranks. Hyatt is amazing with offering opportunities for people to move around and take other positions (it's how I got this gig) so new people are moving in and out constantly. Working Monday, Friday and Saturday next week (still in training mode) and 4 days the following week to cover vacation. Things should settle down in May with a more regular rotation...(or not!). Either way, I am back full time to livin' the dream! Adios, for now...
Sunday, April 15, 2018
Wednesday, April 11, 2018
Oh, what a beautiful morning!
= Oh, what a beautiful morning! Oh, what a beautiful day! I've got a beautiful feeling...Everything going my way! My apologies to Oklahoma the musical (reading the lyrics is way better than hearing me sing them). The neighborhood dogs are barking in pain! But what a great couple of weeks I am having. I know it probably won't last long but I sure as hell am enjoying the ride...
First and foremost...Saturday was my last graveyard shift. I am free again to walk among the living. I spent Sunday watching the Masters golf tournament (great finish!) and relaxing. I woke up Monday morning and drove to the new job and...found out I wasn't scheduled until Tuesday! But it was a great trial run to find out traffic patterns and find out how long the commute will be. I forgot how many people work in the daytime and traffic is crazy. I got to wear sunglasses TO work! (FYI...the sun is that yellow ball in the sky that appears everyday here while it's snowing elsewhere). So, I pulled an instant replay on Tuesday and spent my first shift absorbing all I could about the new hotel. My uniforms were ready... (I get to wear shorts!) and the 12 hour shift flew by. My head aches for all the information I had to process, but the property is beautiful, the people are fantastic, my boss is terrific, and I got to go home on the same day I started! I woke up this morning and knew it was Wednesday! And I have 2 days off until my next shift. I am on a training schedule right now...(Tuesday, Friday, Saturday) so I'm not sure what my permanent schedule will be, but who cares! I have days off a week!
Second...baseball season has begun and the two teams I root for are doing great! The Mets have won 9 out of 10...(including a sweep of the Nationals in Washington) and the Diamondbacks are in first place in their division. Of course, I realize it is a long season, but what a great start. The Mets have never started a season 9-1 and who knows where it can go from here. And the dbacks are getting great pitching and clutch hitting, even though they lost their best player (JD Martinez) to free agency. I am looking forward to the Mets visit here in June. I hope they can keep up the winning ways. Staying positive until they prove me wrong!
Third...my golf game has returned to form and I have a new student that I am working with. I had some business cards made up offering lessons and I give them out when I play. A woman called me the other day and we started working together on fundamentals and helping her is helping my game also. We played last Wednesday and I carded a 3 under par 69, with 6 birdies, 3 bogeys and 9 pars. My scores are low, my swing is really good, and she may get me some more students from the league she plays in. More greens fee money! Cha-ching!
Fourth... I'm getting my blog back on! I have found my voice again and it is a good thing...(for me anyway and I hope my faithful readers will think the same). It is very therapeutic to sit here and type my feelings and goings-on and God knows I could use therapy!
So, all in all, its been a great couple of weeks. I miss the people I worked with at the Andaz, but I sure don't miss the hours! It is so cool to see how the hotel runs from behind the scenes. And interacting with the guests is a blast! There's a lot to do but I've never shied away from working. It will take a few shifts to get used to being busy all day...(after having nothing to do on the overnight shift) but walking the property...(it is huge!) will get me back in fighting shape in no time! I see nothing but good things with the new job... Living the dream just took a turn for the fantastic. God bless.
First and foremost...Saturday was my last graveyard shift. I am free again to walk among the living. I spent Sunday watching the Masters golf tournament (great finish!) and relaxing. I woke up Monday morning and drove to the new job and...found out I wasn't scheduled until Tuesday! But it was a great trial run to find out traffic patterns and find out how long the commute will be. I forgot how many people work in the daytime and traffic is crazy. I got to wear sunglasses TO work! (FYI...the sun is that yellow ball in the sky that appears everyday here while it's snowing elsewhere). So, I pulled an instant replay on Tuesday and spent my first shift absorbing all I could about the new hotel. My uniforms were ready... (I get to wear shorts!) and the 12 hour shift flew by. My head aches for all the information I had to process, but the property is beautiful, the people are fantastic, my boss is terrific, and I got to go home on the same day I started! I woke up this morning and knew it was Wednesday! And I have 2 days off until my next shift. I am on a training schedule right now...(Tuesday, Friday, Saturday) so I'm not sure what my permanent schedule will be, but who cares! I have days off a week!
Second...baseball season has begun and the two teams I root for are doing great! The Mets have won 9 out of 10...(including a sweep of the Nationals in Washington) and the Diamondbacks are in first place in their division. Of course, I realize it is a long season, but what a great start. The Mets have never started a season 9-1 and who knows where it can go from here. And the dbacks are getting great pitching and clutch hitting, even though they lost their best player (JD Martinez) to free agency. I am looking forward to the Mets visit here in June. I hope they can keep up the winning ways. Staying positive until they prove me wrong!
Third...my golf game has returned to form and I have a new student that I am working with. I had some business cards made up offering lessons and I give them out when I play. A woman called me the other day and we started working together on fundamentals and helping her is helping my game also. We played last Wednesday and I carded a 3 under par 69, with 6 birdies, 3 bogeys and 9 pars. My scores are low, my swing is really good, and she may get me some more students from the league she plays in. More greens fee money! Cha-ching!
Fourth... I'm getting my blog back on! I have found my voice again and it is a good thing...(for me anyway and I hope my faithful readers will think the same). It is very therapeutic to sit here and type my feelings and goings-on and God knows I could use therapy!
So, all in all, its been a great couple of weeks. I miss the people I worked with at the Andaz, but I sure don't miss the hours! It is so cool to see how the hotel runs from behind the scenes. And interacting with the guests is a blast! There's a lot to do but I've never shied away from working. It will take a few shifts to get used to being busy all day...(after having nothing to do on the overnight shift) but walking the property...(it is huge!) will get me back in fighting shape in no time! I see nothing but good things with the new job... Living the dream just took a turn for the fantastic. God bless.
Tuesday, April 3, 2018
The Phoenix is rising from the ashes...
Like the mighty Phoenix rising from the ashes, the intrepid blogger rises and gets back to the keyboard. Like the hibernating bear, the blogger has awakened from a long winter nap and gets back to the keyboard. In the spirit of Easter, the blogger has rolled the stone away from the tomb of writer's block and creative numbness and has risen again to return to the keyboard...(I do not claim any resemblance to the Truly Risen Lord, but the metaphor was too good to pass up). Can I get an amen? (ok, that's pushing it). What I am trying to say is... I have found my voice in the desert and it's time to back to work...
A little background... Eight months ago I went to work for Hyatt at the beautiful Andaz Resort and Spa in Scottsdale. I took the overnight position (10:30pm-7:00am) thinking that working nights would free me up to pursue my one and true love (golf, of course!) and it would be cool to have the days free and it was still security which I really enjoyed. Let me tell you something...it's anything but cool. Sleeping during the day isn't so bad...(everyone else is at work) but the drain on you is something you can't prepare for. I now firmly believe that the person who came up with idea for the TV show "The Walking Dead" was a former graveyard shift worker. Zombies do exist! It's the horde of people (shells of their former selves) walking around during the day after getting off shift. At first it was just getting used to the changing sleep cycle but then even the change had a profound effect on my entire existence. I was tired all the time even after sleeping all day. It was difficult to focus...(which was always the case anyway. Now it was even harder!). Plus the fact that nothing happened after 1 am... NOTHING! The boredom and quiet wrapped around me and sapped all strength and ambition from my body. I needed to be around people and if I was going to work, I needed to get it back to being on my terms. After all, that was the plan when I moved out to the Valley of the Sun.
So I started looking elsewhere for employment. Couldn't find anything I liked. There were many security jobs available, but it meant starting back at square one with benefits and vacation time. Then, out of the blue, my current boss asks if I would interested in a job at another Hyatt property in Scottsdale, the Hyatt Regency at Gainey Ranch. It's a beautiful property with 10 pools, meeting facilities and a GOLF COURSE!! I told him that I would like to interview for the position. I met with Colleen at Gainey Ranch and it was a dream come true...Three 12 hour shifts per week (7am-7pm) with 4 days off, no interruption of benefits or vacation time (I would still be a Hyatt employee) and golf privileges during the summer. I told her I would like to be considered for the position. She said "When can you start?" and long story longer (it is my style, after all), I start on Monday April 8. That means I have 5 more shifts on the overnight zombie train. The count down has begun! Arizona Jim is returning to the land of the living! It may be more than I bargained for and hard as hell, but it's only 3 days a week. And who isn't up for a new adventure? Change is good and so is life!
I would be remiss if I didn't admit that there was another reason I am back at the keyboard. Baseball season has begun again (yes, I am still a die hard Met fan and part time Dback fan) and I saw that the Yankee home opener and Mets-Phillies game was postponed because of snow! Snow in April! Meanwhile, here in my little slice of paradise the nights are in the mid 50's-low 60's and the days touch 90 degrees. It hasn't rained since sister Sheryl visited here in February (a visit that I enjoyed immensely). I don't have a clue how much fun it is to shovel snow in April but shoveling sunshine year round keeps me in pretty good shape! Ok, enough with the weather jokes...(although I do enjoy them). On the whole, I return to the keyboard with good health...(as healthy as a 59 year old man can be), a brand new positive attitude (see Job above) and a renewed faith that God is Great and that he has a soft spot in His heart for recovering drunks and scatter-brained bloggers (that would be me). I hope this blog finds all my readers...(I hope you're still out there) healthy and prosperous. I love you all.
A little background... Eight months ago I went to work for Hyatt at the beautiful Andaz Resort and Spa in Scottsdale. I took the overnight position (10:30pm-7:00am) thinking that working nights would free me up to pursue my one and true love (golf, of course!) and it would be cool to have the days free and it was still security which I really enjoyed. Let me tell you something...it's anything but cool. Sleeping during the day isn't so bad...(everyone else is at work) but the drain on you is something you can't prepare for. I now firmly believe that the person who came up with idea for the TV show "The Walking Dead" was a former graveyard shift worker. Zombies do exist! It's the horde of people (shells of their former selves) walking around during the day after getting off shift. At first it was just getting used to the changing sleep cycle but then even the change had a profound effect on my entire existence. I was tired all the time even after sleeping all day. It was difficult to focus...(which was always the case anyway. Now it was even harder!). Plus the fact that nothing happened after 1 am... NOTHING! The boredom and quiet wrapped around me and sapped all strength and ambition from my body. I needed to be around people and if I was going to work, I needed to get it back to being on my terms. After all, that was the plan when I moved out to the Valley of the Sun.
So I started looking elsewhere for employment. Couldn't find anything I liked. There were many security jobs available, but it meant starting back at square one with benefits and vacation time. Then, out of the blue, my current boss asks if I would interested in a job at another Hyatt property in Scottsdale, the Hyatt Regency at Gainey Ranch. It's a beautiful property with 10 pools, meeting facilities and a GOLF COURSE!! I told him that I would like to interview for the position. I met with Colleen at Gainey Ranch and it was a dream come true...Three 12 hour shifts per week (7am-7pm) with 4 days off, no interruption of benefits or vacation time (I would still be a Hyatt employee) and golf privileges during the summer. I told her I would like to be considered for the position. She said "When can you start?" and long story longer (it is my style, after all), I start on Monday April 8. That means I have 5 more shifts on the overnight zombie train. The count down has begun! Arizona Jim is returning to the land of the living! It may be more than I bargained for and hard as hell, but it's only 3 days a week. And who isn't up for a new adventure? Change is good and so is life!
I would be remiss if I didn't admit that there was another reason I am back at the keyboard. Baseball season has begun again (yes, I am still a die hard Met fan and part time Dback fan) and I saw that the Yankee home opener and Mets-Phillies game was postponed because of snow! Snow in April! Meanwhile, here in my little slice of paradise the nights are in the mid 50's-low 60's and the days touch 90 degrees. It hasn't rained since sister Sheryl visited here in February (a visit that I enjoyed immensely). I don't have a clue how much fun it is to shovel snow in April but shoveling sunshine year round keeps me in pretty good shape! Ok, enough with the weather jokes...(although I do enjoy them). On the whole, I return to the keyboard with good health...(as healthy as a 59 year old man can be), a brand new positive attitude (see Job above) and a renewed faith that God is Great and that he has a soft spot in His heart for recovering drunks and scatter-brained bloggers (that would be me). I hope this blog finds all my readers...(I hope you're still out there) healthy and prosperous. I love you all.
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